Method and apparatus for transplanting large trees

ABSTRACT

A method of and apparatus for moving large trees is disclosed that includes digging a trench around the tree, enclosing the soil inside the trench in the walls of a container, and sequentially removing sections of the supporting soil under the tree between trenches on opposite sides and replacing the sections with support members that form the bottom of the container. A vehicle for lifting the container upwardly until it clears the ground for moving the trees on the construction site is disclosed as is a unique trailer for moving the trees on a public road.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 185,442, filedApr. 25, 1988, now abandoned, and Ser. No. 890,870, filed Jul. 28, 1986,now U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,259, issued Jul. 12, 1988.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for transplantinglarge trees, such as trees 12" in diameter or above.

In one of its aspects, this invention relates to a method of enclosingthe ball of soil to be moved with the tree in a rigid container. In yetanother aspect, the invention relates to vehicles for moving the treewhen the ball has been enclosed in such a container.

Until recently, developers of property, particularly commercialproperty, would clear the location of all the trees, large trees as wellas small trees before the construction began with no thought given towhether or not the trees could in some way saved. Where a large andparticularly desirable tree was located so that it would not be in theway of construction then it might be spared, but on the whole, the ideawas to clear the location, build the building or buildings, and thencome back and landscape around the buildings using young trees thatcould be transplanted with a high degree of success. Developers andarchitects working for the developers have now come to realize thatlarge trees on a property to be developed are worth saving if at allpossible. Usually the trees are not in the right place on the propertyand, therefore, to save them, it is necessary to relocate them so thatthey will not be in the way of construction and yet be there to formpart of the landscape around the building when it is completed. One ofthe problems with this, however, is that moving such large trees wasexpensive, labor intensive, and the mortality rate of the trees washigh. This was probably because it was very difficult to move thesetrees with a ball sufficient to support the tree in its new locationwithout damaging the tree's feeder roots to the extent that the treewould die.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method of andapparatus for moving large trees that reduces substantially the time andlabor involved in moving such trees and that will maintain the ballmoved with the tree substantially intact and undisturbed so as to givethe tree an excellent chance of surviving the move.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a method andapparatus that will sever a ball of soil from around the tree andenclose it in a rigid container that will hold the soil and roots fromrelative movement as the tree is being moved.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method of andapparatus for moving a tree lifted by applying lifting forces to therigid container in which the ball being moved with the tree is containedand when the tree is moved in a horizontal position by rotating thecontainer ninety degrees.

It is a further object and feature of this invention to provide atrailer for moving trees by picking up the tree by picking up a rigidcontainer containing the ball of soil and roots severed from the groundwith the tree rotating the container and tree about 90° so that the treeextends along the longitudinal axis of a trailer, supporting thecontainer on its side on the trailer, and exerting a clamping forcebetween the top and bottom of the container to hold the container andthe tree in position on the trailer and to keep the soil in thecontainer under a slight compressive force to ensure that it remainsundisturbed while the tree is being moved to its new location where itwill be rotated back 90° to its upright position, and placed in its newlocation.

It is a further object and advantage of this invention to provide amethod and apparatus for severing a substantial portion of the soilaround the tree to be transplanted and constructing a container aroundthe soil in such a way that only a very small portion is unsupported forany length of time resulting in a minimal amount of disturbance betweenthe soil and the roots of the tree located in the container.

It is a further object, advantage, and one of the features of thisinvention to provide such a method and apparatus in which a trench,usually rectangular in configuration and one that slopes inwardly towardthe tree, is dug around the tree at a distance and depth from the treesufficient to provide an ample ball to support the tree if it is wellwatered, building container walls around the inside wall of the trenchto support the soil of the ball and prevent it from lateral movement,sequentially removing sections of the soil beneath the soil of the ballconfined by the container walls, and replacing each section of soil asit is removed with a support member so that as the ball is severed fromthe earth, it will be at all times substantially always supported byeither the earth before it is severed or the support members that areplaced sequentially under the ball as the sections of the earth areremoved. Once the ball is confined in the container, which at that timewill consist of the container walls around the inner walls of theoriginal trench and the support members that extend underneath the ball,the ball can be lifted upwardly by slings placed under the container andattached to whatever lifting device is convenient and moved in anupright position to another location on the property. At this time, itis not necessary to replant the tree. It can be kept alive and in goodshape by simply keeping it well watered in the container. When theconstruction is completed, the tree can then be moved to the place it isto have in the landscape.

It is a further object and one of the features of this invention toprovide a vehicle for moving the trees after the containers have beenconstructed around the ball of dirt and roots that can be located aroundthe tree with lifting devices, such as hydraulic cylinders, positionedto exert substantially straight upward pulls on the slings looped aroundthe bottom of the container so that the branches of the tree will besomewhat protected from damage that may result if a crane was used forthis purpose and the slings would have to come together on the hook ofthe crane somewhere above the top of the tree. Another advantage is thatthis system does not place the weight of the soil in the ball on theroots in the ball.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of this invention willbe apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of thisspecification, including the attached drawings and appended claims.

In the Drawings

FIGS. 1-4 are vertical sectional views through the ground around a treeshowing the steps in the practice of the method of this inventionrequired to enclose the ball of soil to be moved with the tree in arigid container.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the apparatus used to dig the trench around thetree to a depth and at a distance from the tree sufficient to keep thetree in good health while living in the container.

FIG. 6 is a view looking in the direction of the arrows 6--6 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side view, on an enlarged scale, of the trenching apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a view looking in the direction of the arrows 8--8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the auger used to remove the earth from beneaththe portion of the soil held from lateral movement by the containerwalls.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the retracted auger and the apparatus formoving the auger longitudinally and laterally.

FIG. 11 shows the auger in its most extended position.

FIG. 12 is a view taken along line 12--12 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13--13 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line 14--14 of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a top view of a vehicle designed for moving large trees bylifting substantially vertically on the container in which the ball ofdirt accompanying the tree is located.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line 16--16 of FIG. 15 showingit in position to lift a container and the tree vertically for movementto another location.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line 17--17 of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line 18--18 of FIG. 17 showingthe universal mounting of the hydraulic cylinders on the vehicle.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken along line 19--19 of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along line 20--20 of FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 is a side view of a trailer uniquely designed to handle largetrees having the ball of soil being moved with the trees enclosed in arigid container.

FIG. 22 is a view looking in the direction of the arrows 22 in FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is a side view of the trailer with the draw bar and fifth wheelremoved to position the trailer for picking up the tree for movement toanother location.

FIG. 24 is a side view showing the trailer in position to move the armsused to pick up the tree underneath the container.

FIG. 25 is a side view of the trailer as it is beginning to rotate thetree to position it on the trailer with the container laying on its sideand the tree extending along the longitudinal axis of the trailer or isrotating the container 90° to place it on the ground.

FIG. 26 is a side view of the container on the trailer and the draw barsbeing moved back into position to connect to the trailer for moving thetrailer and the tree to another location.

When transplanting a tree, soil around the tree and the roots of thetree located in this soil are dug up along with the tree so that atleast a portion of the root system of the tree will be intact in thetree's new location. This was called a root ball or simply a "ball" asin "balled and burlapped" trees ready for transplanting. In the practiceof this invention, the portion of the soil and roots removed with thetree will not be ball-shaped, but for the sake of convention it will becalled a "ball" or "root ball" in this specification.

It is one of the features of this invention to provide a method forsevering the root ball from the ground during the practice of which onlya small portion of the ball is unsupported at any given time and thenfor only short periods of time so that the soil and the roots in thesoil will be substantially undisturbed by the severing of the root ball.Further, at the time the root ball is completely severed, it will beconfined in a rigid container that will prevent substantially allrelative movement of the roots and soil in the root ball. This is veryimportant because such movement tends to break the very fine feederroots that are so very critical to the survival of the tree in its newlocation.

The first step of the method is to cut trench 10 around tree 12 to betransplanted. In the embodiment shown, the trench is dug at an angle tothe vertical so that it slopes inwardly toward the tree from the surfaceof the ground. Also in the embodiment shown, the trench is substantiallysquare and the root ball 14 is shaped like an inverted truncatedpyramid. After the trench has been dug to a depth and at a distance fromthe tree sufficient to provide a root ball sufficient to sustain thetree after it has been removed from the ground, side walls 16a ofcontainer 16 are connected together in engagement with the inner wall ofthe trench, as shown in FIG. 2. Preferably, the length of the containerwalls are such that the ball is placed slightly in compression to holdthe roots and the soil from relative movement as the ball and tree aremoved.

After side walls 16a of the container are in place and connected to eachother at the corners to confine the soil in ball 14 from lateralmovement, ball 14 is next severed from the ground along a horizontalplane below the side walls, as shown in FIG. 3. This is done inaccordance with this invention by removing only small sections of thesoil below ball 14 at any one time and, as each section is removed, itis replaced by a support member 16b, consisting of large heavy timbersthat will form the bottom of container 16 when all of the dirt below thecontainer has been removed and replaced by support members. In FIG. 4all the support members are in place below the ball. In addition, thetop of the container and ball 14 have been covered timbers 16c tototally confine the soil in the ball in a rigid container that is strongenough to take the forces imposed thereon as the tree is lifted andmoved by raising, lowering, and rotating the container itself.

The apparatus for digging trench 10 is shown in FIGS. 5-8. It includestrenching machine 20 that includes chain 22 that passes over idler 24 atthe lower end and over a sprocket attached to the output shaft of ahydraulic drive motor (not shown) in housing 26 at the upper end.Cutting blades 28 are carried by the chain and are designed to cut atrench in the ground as the machine is moved from left to right asviewed in FIG. 8. The machine is mounted on frame 30, which is supportedby spaced parallel rails 32 and 34 by mounting arms 36 and 38 thatsupport the trenching machine and that also slides along rails 32 and34. Hydraulic motor 39 drives sprocket 40 on the output shaft of themotor and sprocket 42 located on shaft 44a through drive chain 46.Roller chains 46 and 48 each have one end connected to the top ofmovable frame 50, on which the trenching machine is mounted. The otherend of each chain is connected to the bottom of the frame. The chainsengage sprockets on upper shaft 44a and lower shaft 44b so thathydraulic motor 39 can raise and lower frame 50 and the cutting bladesby rotating sprocket 40 in one direction or the other.

Frame 30, in turn, is moved along rails 32 and 34 by chains 56 and 58.The ends of the chains are connected to opposite sides of frame 30, asviewed in FIG. 8. The chains pass over sprockets 60 on shafts 62 atopposite ends of the rails and by rotating this shaft with hydraulicmotor 64, frame 30 can be moved to the right or left as required to cutditch 10 along the length of rails 32 and 34. The rails are supported ontemplate 66 by support plates 68. The template lays on the ground aroundthe tree to provide the pattern for the trench. In practice, thetrenching machine assembly is placed on one section of the template,such as the right-hand side as shown in FIG. 6, where it cuts a trenchparallel to that section of the template. It is then picked up and movedto another section of the template, cuts another portion of the trenchand so on. The templates will come in various sizes depending upon thediameter of the tree. This also allows the sides of the container to beprefabricated and the bottom and top timbers to be precut to the properlength to form the top and bottom of the container.

FIGS. 9-14 illustrate the auger machine used to remove the dirt fromunderneath the ball section by section to allow the support for the ballto be transferred in steps from the ground to the support beams ortimbers that are placed under the ball and form the bottom of thecontainer. To accommodate the auger machine, one side trench 10 must beenlarged as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9 so that the auger machine can bepositioned to remove dirt from beneath the ball already confined in theside walls of the container. When positioned as shown in FIG. 9, auger70 can be moved longitudinally in a horizontal plane to remove soil fromone side of the ball to the other. Usually the timbers to be placedunderneath the ball are such that the auger will make several parallelpasses before enough dirt is removed to accommodate one timer. Forexample, if the timbers are 4×12 and the auger is 4" in diameter, thenthree passes by the auger is required before the timber could beinstalled.

Auger 70 is driven by hydraulic motor 72 that is mounted on plate 74.The plate is supported by rectangular frame 76 that includes parallelguide rails 77 and 78. Plate 74 with motor 72 can slide along rails 77and 78 and move the auger back and forth underneath the ball. In theembodiment shown, this is accomplished by hydraulic cylinders 80 and 82.In order to get the benefit of the full stroke of both cylinders,cylinder 80 is attached to the right-hand end of the frame by pin 84 asshown in FIG. 10. The rod of cylinder 80 is attached to plate 85 whichin turn is attached to the rod end of cylinder 82 by pin 86. Cylinder 82is connected to plate 74 by pin 87. In operation then, at the beginningof the stroke, the position of the rods and cylinders will be as shownin FIG. 10. Cylinder 80 will first extend its rod to its fullest length,moving plate 85 to the position shown in FIG. 11. Subsequently, cylinder82 will be extended to the position shown also in FIG. 11 so that thefull stroke of the two cylinders will be used to move the auger back andforth beneath the container.

As shown in FIGS. 12-14, plate 74 is held on top of rails 77 and 78 byrollers 90 and 91. Rollers 90 run along the upper flange of rail 77whereas rollers 91 engage the upper flange of rail 78. Plate 85 issupported above plate 74 by rollers 92 and 93 that roll along the lowerflange of rails 77 and 78.

Frame 76, on which the auger machine is mounted, is moved back and forthalong frame 94 by hydraulic motor 95 driving roller chains 96 that areconnected to opposite sides of frame 76. The motor drive rotates shaft97 that in turn moves the roller chains to move frame 76 in the desireddirection along frame 94.

A unique vehicle for moving large trees, where it is not necessary toget on a public highway, is shown in FIGS. 15-20. For example, thisvehicle that would be ideal for use in rearranging large trees on abuilding site before construction begins or for moving large trees,after they have been severed from the ground in accordance with themethod of this invention, to an out of the way place on the groundswhere they can live until the building is completed when they can bereplanted and be part of the landscape.

The vehicle includes a framework made up of spaced, parallel,horizontal, members 100 and 102 and parallel transverse members 104 and106. The framework is supported above the ground at the rear of thevehicle by vertical members 108 and 110 which are supported by dualwheel assemblies 112 and 114. The front of the framework is supported bysimilar vertical support members 116 and 118. The front support columnsare mounted on powered wheel assemblies 120 and 122 that include motor124 and 126, respectively, that drive the wheels and move the vehicleover the ground. Front support columns 116 and 118 are mounted on thepowered wheel assemblies so that the tractors can pivot around avertical axis relative to the framework as required to turn the vehiclein one direction or the other.

Extending between beams 104 and 106 of the framework are two pairs 128and 130 of spaced beams. Hydraulic cylinders 132 and 134 are mounted onthe pair 128 and cylinders 136 and 138 are mounted on pair 130. Thecylinders are mounted and the beams are spaced for the cylinder rods toextend downwardly between the support beams. The cylinders are mountedto be substantially vertical so that the rods are in substantiallyvertical alignment with the upper ends of slings 140-142, that extendunder container 14 so there will be a minimum of side loading on thecylinders as the cylinder rods lift container 14 and the tree out of theground.

Since the size of the container will vary with the size of the tree, itis presently expected that the size of the containers will vary from12'×12' up to 20'×20'. The 12'×12' container will be used for trees inthe 12" to 18" diameter range and the 20'×20' will be used for trees 30"to 35" or more inches in diameter. The ball in the 12'×12' containerwill weigh approximately 51,000 lbs. The 20'×20' will contain a ballthat weighs approximately 230,000 lbs.

To adapt the vehicle for various size containers so that the upward pullon the slings exerted by the cylinders is substantially vertical,support members 104 and 106 are provided with removable center sections104a and 106a. This allows the transverse distance between the cylindersto be adjusted by changing the length of the removable sections. Thedistance between the cylinders along the longitudinal axis of thevehicle does not need to be varied since the distance between the slingswould be adequate for any of the containers to be lifted.

To ensure that the pull exerted by the cylinders is in line with theslings, the cylinders are mounted on the support beams so that they canpivot slightly in all directions. This is accomplished by supportingeach cylinder in a collar, such as collar 144 shown in FIG. 18. Thecollar has trunnions 146 located on opposite sides that in thisembodiment extend along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Thetrunnions are mounted for rotation around their longitudinal axis insupporting block 148 that, in turn, is provided with trunnions 150 onopposite sides that are supported by support plates 152 that areattached to the top of support beams 128 and 130 as the case may be.

In operation, one of the removable sections of transverse beams 104 and106 is removed to allow the trunk of the tree to pass into the center ofthe framework of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 15. The removable sectionis replaced. The slings are attached to the cylinder rods and thecontainer will be lifted straight up carrying the ball and the tree withit. The vehicle only needs to lift the container far enough for it toclear the ground, then it can proceed to move the tree to wherever it isto be located.

The removable sections 104a and 106a are connected to and removed frombeams 104 and 106 by flanges 154. The length of the permanent portionsof beams 104 and 106 is such that they can be connected together and thewidth of the vehicle will be such that it can travel down a public road.

FIGS. 21-26 show a unique trailer that can be used for moving trees,which are prepared for transplant in accordance with the method of thisinvention, along a highway. FIG. 21 is a side view of such a trailer,generally indicated by the number 160, attached to tractor 162 by fifthwheel 164. The fifth wheel is connected to the trailer proper by a pairof spaced gooseneck hitch members 166 and 168. As best seen in FIGS. 22and 26, FIG. 22 being a view from above the trailer and tractor, hitchmembers 166 and 168 are connected to the trailer through hitch plates170 and 172 that are connected to the trailer. The hitch plates extendinto slots in the ends of the hitch members. They are connected to thehitch members by pins 174 and 176 that extend through aligned openingsin the hitch members and the plates. Also connecting the hitch membersto the plates are square pins 178 and 180 that engage notches 182, onlyone of which is shown, that are located in the front edge of the platesclose to the lower edge. Square pins 178 and 180 prevent any relativerotation between the hitch members and the back of the trailer aroundpins 174 and 176. Hitch members 166 and 168 are connected by plate 184and it is to this plate that the fifth wheel is attached. Pins 174 and176 are moved into and out of the openings in the hitch members and thehitch plates by double-acting fluid cylinders 184 and 186.

Support arms 190 and 192 are attached to container support members 194and 196. The support members are constructed of side plates 194a and196a and top plates 194b and 196b that are welded together to providetwo inclined flat surfaces provided by top plates 194b and 196b forsupporting the container as it lays on its side on the trailer as shownin FIG. 26. The support members are mounted for rotation around shaft197. Fluid powered cylinders 198 and 200 have one end connected to thetrailer and the rod end connected to support members 194 and 196 throughpins 202 and 204 to pivot arms 190 and 192 between a substantiallyvertical position, as shown in FIG. 21, to a substantially horizontalposition, shown in FIG. 24.

A second pair of arms 210 and 212 are mounted on the trailer behind thefront pair of arms. These arms are moved between a substantiallyvertical position to a forward inclined position, as shown in FIG. 25.In this position the arms can engage the top of the container as it isbeing pivoted to a vertical position to keep the container from slidingdown the inclined surfaces of the support members.

In operation, the trailer is moved to a position adjacent to a tree thathas been severed from the ground and the ball of the tree confined incontainer. A pair of shoes 220 are lowered into engagement with theground by fluid cylinders 222. A support block 224 is placed between thebed of the tractor and the hitch members to keep them from pivotingdownwardly when they are disconnected from the trailer. Fluid cylinders184 and 186 then move pins 174 and 176 out of the openings in the hitchmembers and hitch plates. The rear portion of the trailer is thenlowered by cylinders 222 to move notches 182 out of engagement withsquare pins 178 and 180. The tractor can now move the hitch portion ofthe trailer out of the way. The front of the trailer is supported atthis point by shoe 220.

The trailer is positioned so that when arms 190 and 192 are lowered tothe horizontal position by cylinders 198 and 200 as shown in FIG. 24,the trailer can move forward and the arms will move underneath container16. The ball in the container and the tree have been previously liftedfrom the ground and placed on blocks above the ground so that the armscan easily move under the container. Hydraulic cylinders 198 and 200then begin rotating arms 190 and 192 and container support members 194and 196 back to their vertical position, as shown in FIG. 25. At thissame time, arms 210 and 212 are moved forwardly by cylinders 211 and 213so that they will engage the top of the container before the containerreaches the point where it might begin to slide down the surfaces ofsupport members 194 and 196. As the first pair of arms continue torotate the container to a vertical position as shown in FIG. 26, arms210 and 212 move back toward their original vertical position whileclamping the container between these arms and lifting arms 190 and 192.

Some sort of support is usually provided between the container and thetree to keep the bending moment imposed on the trunk of the tree by theweight of the branches of the tree from being excessive. This can bedone by extending line 226 from the trunk of the tree to the top of thecontainer as shown in FIG. 26.

The hitch members are then reconnected to the trailer. First, thetractor moves hitch members 166 and 168 back in position where cylinder222 can raise the front of the trailer upwardly until square pins 178and 180 engage grooves 182 in the hitch plates. When this is done,cylinder 222 raises the hitch plates upwardly until whichever one of theopenings in the plates and the hitch members are in alignment. Cylinders184 and 186 can then move pins 178 and 180 through the openings in thehitch members and the hitch plate and support block 224 is removed. Thetree is then moved down the highway, to where it is replanted or storedin the container until the property site is ready for the tree to bereplanted. There the process will be reversed with the tree beingrotated 90° back to the vertical position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth,together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the method and apparatus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

Because many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A trailer for moving large trees after a portion of the roots of the trees and the soil around them have been severed from the ground and encased in a rigid rectangular box having a bottom under the severed roots and soil and side walls that extend upwardly and outwardly at an angle to the vertical, said trailer comprising a bed and wheels for supporting the bed as it is towed from one location to the other, a pair of box support members including two side plates and two top plates, each side plate is welded to a top plate to provide two inclined flat surfaces inclined approximately equal to said angle for cooperatively engaging and supporting the box as it lays on one of said side walls on the trailer, said support members including a pair of support arms attached to the side plates for supporting the bottom of the box, and means for rotating the support members to a first position to position the support arms for movement under the box and for rotating the support members to rotate the box to a second position where the box is lying on one of said side walls and supported by the side plates with the tree extending generally horizontally over the trailer bed for movement to another location.
 2. The trailer of claim 1 further provided with means to engage the top of the box when the support embers are in their second position to clamp the box between said top engaging means and the support arms to keep the box from tipping forward away from the support arms due to the weight of the tree.
 3. The trailer of claim 2 further provided with means for moving the box top engaging means toward and away from the box to adjust the clamping force on the box. 